"mounted a secretive lobbying campaign"

Except this has been in the news for weeks, including one of the crackpot threads on DR yesterday.

But I guess using the word "secretive" satisfies the loons on the Left and their paranoia. After all, everything from oil prices to contaminated hot dogs are part of the grand conspiracy of the Bush/ Cheney cabal.

"secretive" includes the DETAILS, not the acknowledgement of something obvious going on.

They can have immunity, just don't disclose the information. Tell Big Brother, to paraphrase Dick, "Go Fuck Yourself"

Phone companies want criminal immunity just for for pissing on the rights of Americans?

The only thing strange here is that the phone companies will certainly get their immunity or Dubya Bush isn't a Republican!

This clearly shows the respect the corporations have for their customers.

And the biggest problem here is they are all in it so can't switch because they are all tied to the government.

The real question is how much did the government pay to get the information?

I would be very afraid if I was the phone conpanies because so much of their property could get destroyed, costing the companies millions of dollars. If people can't sue, no telling what they might do......think about it, telephone poles, Lines, phone booths, wireless viruses, etc. It don't look good to me.....

Can't wait till they nationalize healthcare, Then the government won't have to put up with all these rights and regulations when it comes to accessing our medical records.

Who needs privacy when they're just trying to keep us safe?!?!?!

Gustogus-
re: "Who needs privacy when they're just trying to keep us safe?!?!?!"

You don't seem to, consumed as you are with Hitlery - who's not yet in charge.

GUSTOGUS

You think your medical records are private? Guess again.

Everytime you go to the doctor and they file an insurance claim, that fact is placed in the Medical Information Bureau computer.

Hurt your back? Next time you change plans you may very well find yourself denied coverage on that 'preexisting condition'.

Privacy? Uh huh. Sure...... Take a physical for life insurance lately? Know that little swab the ran around the inside of your mouth? Think they're checking for viruses or drub use? Sure, while they're grabbing your DNA which can later be analysed for risk of certain genetic diseases.

Next time I change plans, I have to release my medical records for them to have access to them.

Do you ever read the forms? or just sign them?

...The nation?s biggest telecommunications companies, working closely with the White House, have mounted a secretive lobbying campaign to get Congress to quickly approve a measure wiping out all private lawsuits against them for assisting the U.S. intelligence community?s warrantless surveillance programs.,,,

If Bush used just half as much of the energy and time he's used so far to cover up his crimes, fraud, and war profiteering scandals and instead used it to taking care of American citizens and making this an even better country, Bush might have gone down in history as an adequate President. Instead, the disaster known as the Bush Presidency is already one for the history books.

They want all the doctors to soon put all your medical records on the internet that allegedly would be disclosed only to a circle of insurance providers, other physicians, hospitals, etc. A number of doctors are resisting doing that for obvious reasons. Having all one's medical records easily available to hackers or else made available via some medical clerk's error in imputing the info doesn't appear to the best way to safeguard your medical privacy.

I think the legal principle involved here is "The devil made be do it".

be=me

Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 is nothing new. It was updated throughout the Clinton Administration, but he wasn't Bush so it didn't matter what the Democratic Congress passed. The very nature of telecommunications makes it very insecure; you would have to be brain dead to think otherwise. Why do you care? Just more noise from the left.